NOBODY said it would be easy – but maybe it isn’t as hard as we think. As the world grapples with how to limit global warming to 1.5°C, solutions are already in our hands. All around the planet, countries are deploying technologies that reduce carbon emissions in the big areas where radical change is needed: energy generation, transport, industry, buildings and land use.
In 2015, 12 leading environmental institutions from around the world, led by Finland’s national innovation fund, SITRA, set out to assess their potential. “At the start of the project, we had a very simple question in mind,” says SITRA’s . “How far could we go just using and scaling up existing technologies?”
Advertisement
Quite a way. The assessment identified 18 solutions that, rolled out as widely as possible, by 2030, or 25 per cent of projected emissions if countries stick to their commitments under the 2015 Paris climate change deal. “Yes, there’s still three-quarters we don’t have a solution for,” says SITRA’s . “But this showcases a lot of solutions that are technologically and economically viable.”
Implementing them would cost $94 billion a year, less than a fifth of what governments currently shell out in direct fossil-fuel subsidies. Add in the benefits to economic growth, sustainable development and poverty reduction, and many are an economic win, even before you consider the costs to health, wealth and the environment of doing nothing. So here they are, starting from the smallest in terms of potential emissions saved: 18 existing, implementable low-carbon success stories.
18.ĚýEnergy generation: Off-grid solar
Bangladesh
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), at least 50 per cent of the world’s energy must come from renewables by 2050 if we are to meet the 1.5°C target – and preferably much more. That requires a range of solutions tailored to very different needs.
In Bangladesh, 50 million of the country’s population of 165 million still have no access to grid electricity. Dirty, inefficient kerosene lamps are the main source of lighting. Since 2002, however, the country’s Solar Home Systems programme has brought off-grid electricity .
That has already saved an estimated 220 million litres of kerosene, reducing emissions by about 580,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide in total. Other countries with significant off-grid populations in Africa, the Caribbean, Central America and the Asia-Pacific region could similarly benefit.
Potential annual global CO2saving by 2030: 3 million tonnes (Mt)
Equivalent to emissions of: Togo, 142nd out of 220 in the of emitting nations and territories
Ěý
17.ĚýTransport: Better buses
Colombia
Extensive, organised public transport systems are a given in much of the rich world, but less so in many rapidly developing cities.
Yet commuters in Bogotá, Colombia, have one of the most efficient, climate-friendly bus systems in the world. The TransMilenio Bus Rapid Transit system, inaugurated in 2000, now has 11 lines running in dedicated lanes along 112 kilometres of road, and carries 2.2 million passengers a day. The buses run on diesel, but the system saves 6000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year by displacing journeys on other, less efficient vehicles. TransMilenio cost a fraction of a tram or subway system. To meet the 1.5°C climate target, there needs to be a 30 per cent reduction in global transport emissions by 2030, says the IPCC. Many other cities in middle-income countries, notably China and India, might follow Bogotá’s lead.
Potential annual global saving: 24Mt
Equivalent to emissions of: Sri Lanka (84th)
Ěý
16.ĚýBuildings: Home Insulation
Germany
In 1948, as part of the US-backed Marshall Plan, a new bank was established in Germany. The Kreditanstalt fĂĽr Wiederaufbau, or Reconstruction Credit Institute, did exactly as its name suggests, rebuilding the country following the ravages of the second world war.
The bank still exists, but is now involved in a different sort of international rescue, loaning government-backed money to improve household energy efficiency. Between 2006 and 2014, it funded energy efficiency retrofits or the construction of nearly 4 million German homes, cutting emissions by an estimated 700,000 tonnes. Other high-income nations with chilly winters, among them the US, Canada and Japan, could follow suit.
Potential annual global saving: 77Mt
Equivalent to emissions of: Greece (47th)
37.1 billion tonnes
projected global carbon emissions in 2018
Source: Global Carbon Atlas
Ěý
15.ĚýIndustry: Pimped-up electric motors
United States
Land of the Free the US may be, but it has strict government-imposed energy efficiency rules. One of the most successful is for industrial electric motors used to power fans, pumps, conveyors and compressors. Rigorous standards for all motors up to 500 horsepower (373 kilowatts) have saved at least 28 million tonnes of CO2 a year in the US. Global industry needs to cut emissions by 80 per cent by 2030 to hit the 1.5°C target. Rolled out worldwide, this measure could more than pay its way through electricity cost savings.
Potential annual global saving: 112Mt
Equivalent to emissions of: Czech Republic (38th)
Ěý
14.ĚýBuildings: Green mortgages
Mexico
In 2010, Infonavit, the largest mortgage lender in Mexico, launched a government-subsidised “green mortgage” scheme to encourage buyers into houses fitted with technologies such as solar water heaters, low-energy lighting, water-saving taps and thermal insulation.
The scheme has saved only a modest 300,000 tonnes of carbon, but, according to the SITRA analysis, has enormous potential in other countries with similar climates, including Australia, China, New Zealand, South Africa and Spain.
Potential annual global saving: 125Mt
Equivalent to emissions of: the Philippines (37th)
Ěý
13.ĚýEnergy generation: Rooftop water heaters
China
Roofs festooned with racks of shiny black pipes are a feature of many Chinese towns and cities. China has more of these solar water heaters than the rest of the world put together. Since 2014, they have been compulsory in all areas with more than 2200 hours of sunshine a year.
In 2013, the heaters were estimated to be saving China 76 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually. If adopted in other countries with suitable amounts of sunlight, particularly in Asia and Africa, that amount could almost double.
Potential annual global saving: 136Mt
Equivalent to emissions of: Qatar (36th)
Ěý
12.ĚýLand use: Responsible farming
Brazil
Land use, such as farming and forestry, currently accounts for about a quarter of all carbon emissions. To meet the 1.5°C target, it needs to become a net carbon absorber by 2030. Brazil has the world’s most ambitious programme to reduce agricultural carbon emissions, although that might change as a result of the recent election of populist president Jair Bolsonaro. For now, farmers are given an incentive to restore degraded pasture, plant trees and reduce fertiliser use – low-cost solutions that are appropriate for large swathes of the developing world.
Potential annual global saving: 165Mt
Equivalent to emissions of: Venezuela (33rd)
Ěý
11.ĚýEnergy generation: Waste wood burning
Finland
There isn’t any oil, gas or coal in Finland, but the country does have plenty of wood. It generates about a fifth of its energy from waste wood – from construction and the pulp and paper industries – and other biomass, saving around 6.8 million tonnes of CO2 a year. Biomass energy is subsidised and wood pellets are increasingly used to directly heat buildings and district heating networks. With appropriate air-quality controls in place, that could be scaled up to other cold countries with lots of waste wood, such as Canada, Mongolia and Russia.
Potential annual global saving: 193Mt
Equivalent to emissions of: Pakistan (31st)
Ěý
10.ĚýLand use: Reduce food waste
Denmark
We enter the top 10 tried and tested ways to cut emissions via our stomachs. In 2010, the Danish government assessed how much food was wasted between production and consumption. The result: 586,000 tonnes, creating unnecessary carbon emissions from land use, transport, storage, packaging and composting. Since then, various initiatives, including better packaging and a restaurant doggy-bag scheme, have cut that number by 25 per cent. If replicated across high and middle-income countries, that cooks up a delicious win.
Potential annual global saving: 238Mt
Equivalent to emissions of: United Arab Emirates (26th)
Ěý
9.ĚýIndustry: Stop methane leaks
United States
A voluntary scheme that began in the US in the 1990s cut leaks of the greenhouse gas methane from oil and gas production. The saving is equivalent to 38 million tonnes of CO2 every year. Pushed to their technological limit, such initiatives might produce global carbon savings of 1.3 gigatonnes by 2030 – more than all the emissions of Japan, the current fifth largest emitter. The SITRA analysis of this method is based on more modest assumptions, but still produces a huge win.
Potential annual global saving: 388Mt
Equivalent to emissions of: UK (17th)
12.1 billion tonnes
annual global carbon saving in 2030 if all 18 solutions were rolled out
Source: SITRA
Ěý
8.ĚýIndustry: More efficient gadgets
Japan
With limited fossil fuels of its own, Japan relies almost completely on imports. In 1998, it launched a programme called Top Runner to improve the energy efficiency of machinery and appliances from . Manufacturers of cars, household white goods, electronics and vending machines had to make improvements, or face being named and shamed. Japan’s emissions are estimated to have fallen by around 50 million tonnes a year as a result, with big savings possible in other big industrial economies.
Potential annual global saving: 400Mt
Equivalent to emissions of: Australia (16th)
Ěý
7.ĚýTransport: Clean up cars
European Union
Since 2009, new cars sold in the European Union have had to meet tough environmental standards, in effect producing no more than 130 grams of CO2 per kilometre on average, or face hefty fines. By 2012, the average CO2 emissions of new cars had fallen to close to that level, a drop of 17 per cent, to 132 grams per kilometre. Car-makers were later found to be fiddling the testing system, but similarly enhanced, properly policed standards across the globe could make a huge difference.
Potential annual global saving: 525Mt
Equivalent to emissions of: South Africa (14th) plus Israel (67th)
Ěý
6.ĚýIndustry: Industrial efficiency
China
A bit of command and control goes a long way in increasing energy efficiency. China’s 12th five-year plan (2011-2015) ordered the country’s 10,000 biggest energy guzzlers to become more efficient. The energy efficiency of Chinese industry improved by between 3 and 4 per cent annually in that period, and continues to increase. If applied to other economies with low industrial energy efficiency, notably India, South Africa and the former Soviet republics, it is a heavy duty win.
Potential annual global saving: 879Mt
Equivalent to emissions of: France (18th), Italy (19th), the Netherlands (33rd) and Luxembourg (108th) combined
Ěý
5.ĚýLand use: Reforestation
Costa Rica
This Central American nation is a renowned green pioneer. In 1980, forest covered just 20 per cent of the country. It now carpets more than half, thanks largely to payments for reforestation and ecosystem preservation. Costa Rica’s land use sector has moved from being a net emitter of CO2 to a net absorber, to the tune of 3.5 million tonnes a year. Many countries across the world have a similar potential for reforestation.
Potential annual global saving: 882Mt
Equivalent to emissions of: Germany (6th) plus Belgium (41st)
Ěý
4.ĚýBuildings: No more stoves
China
China’s snappily titled National Improved Stove Program was launched in the early 1980s to encourage people to improve air quality by getting rid of old coal or wood-burning stoves and installing efficient gas-fired ones instead. Around 200 million households upgraded, and 90 per cent of people now have access to clean-burning stoves. The programme also cut greenhouse gases by between 1 and 3 tonnes per stove per year. An International Improved Stove Program, taking in many low-income countries that still rely on traditional cooking stoves, is a perhaps surprising entry at number 4 on our quick climate win list.
Potential annual global saving: 985Mt
Equivalent to emissions of: Indonesia (12th) plus Brazil (13th)
Ěý
3.ĚýEnergy generation: More wind turbines
Denmark, Brazil
Denmark produces 40 per cent of its power from wind, and is aiming for 50 per cent by 2020. In Brazil, turbines in the windy north-east already generate about 8 per cent of the country’s electricity. Both nations have government programmes to promote and subsidise wind power.
The current savings are 8.6 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year in Denmark and 1.1 million tonnes in Brazil. If high and middle-income countries exploited their wind resources to the same extent as Denmark, and low-income countries to the same extent as Brazil, the total win is over 1 gigatonne.
Potential annual global saving: 1018Mt
Equivalent to emissions of: Canada (10th) plus Mexico (11th)
Ěý
2.ĚýLand use: Reduce deforestation
Brazil
Forests are the lungs of the planet – and by helping them we help ourselves. Between 2004 and 2012, Brazil reduced annual deforestation by 84 per cent through a mixture of bolstered law enforcement, expanded protections and economic incentives, saving over 400 million tonnes of CO2 a year.
Deforestation rates have since rebounded and new president Bolsonaro is making worrying noises about dismantling Amazon protections. But Brazil’s success in this golden period shows what other countries with extensive rainforest cover could do.
Potential annual global saving: 2800Mt
Equivalent to emissions of: India (3rd) and Thailand (20th)
Ěý
1.ĚýEnergy generation: On-grid solar
Germany
The ultimate winner in the game of climate wins is perhaps no surprise – after all, over a year the sun beats down 7500 times more energy on Earth than humanity consumes.
Nearly 20 years ago, Germany passed a law to promote electricity generated from the sun and wind. Green electricity producers got a guaranteed price and first dibs on feeding electricity into the grid. Today, 25 per cent of Germany’s electricity comes from renewable sources, and a quarter of that is solar. If all countries with sufficient sun were to exploit grid solar energy to the same degree, there would be an immediately brighter future for the fight against climate change.
Potential annual global saving: 3200Mt
Equivalent to emissions of: Russia (4th) – twice over
